DATA POLICY STRUCTURE

Impact Canada 100 Platform By Niska

1. Purpose & Public Interest Mandate
  • Establish the Impact Canada 100 Platform By Niska (“platform”) as a public-access corporate community investment information infrastructure focused on transparency, comparability, and awareness.
  • Clarify that platform data is for public education and accountability, not promotional reporting or investment advice.
2. Data Governance & Ownership
  • The Platform acts as data steward and controller
  • Companies retain ownership of submitted data and grant irrevocable license for use, analysis, and publication.
  • The Platform owns all derived data (Index scores, rankings, analytics).
3. Data Collection Framework
  • Primary sources of data include, but is not restricted to:
    • Public disclosures (primary at early stage)
    • Direct company submissions (structured, ongoing)
    • Supporting validation materials (confidential)

  • Core rule: Only data that can be publicly disclosed will be used in published outputs.

4. Data Classification & Transparency Model
Tier 1 Public Data
  • Community Investment inputs
  • Aggregated distributions (e.g., provincial rollups only)
  • Analytical metrics (percentages, ratios)
  • Index scores
Tier 2 Restricted Data
  • Supporting documents
  • Non-public breakdowns
  • Partner-specific information (e.g., nonprofits
  • Data restricted by participating companies’ policies.
Tier 3 – Derived Data (Platform IP)
  • Normalized values
  • Index calculations
  • Comparative analytics
  • Brand identifiers and classification
5. Methodology and Standards Alignment
  • Anchored in:
    • London Benchmarking Group
    • Quality of Life Framework of Canada/Canada Indicator Framework
  • Commitments:
    • Standardized valuation of community investment
    • Transparent normalization methodology
  • Flexibility:
    • Transitional participation allowed
    • Encouragement toward LBG validation over time

6. Verification & Assurance Framework
  • Core Verification:
    • Data validation checks
    • Company confirmation/review
    • Supporting documentation review
    • Select nonprofit corroboration (for partnership quality)

Separate Layer:

  • Good Standing / Reputational Checks
    • Applied only for List inclusion
    • Not a condition for data presence in the Registry

7. Data Integrity, Accuracy & Corrections
  • Companies:
    • Can review and confirm before publication
    • Can request corrections
  • Platform:
    • May flag inconsistencies
    • May revise or remove questionable data
  • Includes:
    • Version control Annual and rolling updates
8. Data Usage, Access & Licensing
  • Public Access is free and open for
    • Education
    •  Research
    • Public awareness
  • Commercial Use requires:
    • Permission
    • Licensing agreement
  • Platform Rights:
    • Full rights to publish, analyze, aggregate, and distribute insights
9. Data Retention & Historical Record
  • All data:
    • Retained permanently as part of a national dataset
  • Enables:
    • Longitudinal analysis
    • Trend tracking
    • Historical benchmarking
10. Confidentiality & Sensitive Data Protections
  • Not publicly disclosed:
    • Named nonprofit partners
    • Local/community-level funding allocations
  • Confidential materials:
    • Used strictly for validation
    • Protected from public release

11. Ethical Use & Anti-Manipulation Safeguards
  • Prohibits:
    • Misrepresentation
    • Selective or strategic disclosure to influence rankings
  • Platform authority:
    • Adjust scores
    • Exclude participants where necessary

12. AI & Automation Policy
  • AI use will:
    • Rely only on verified data
    • Not generate investment values
  • Commitment to:
    • Transparency in automated processes
    • Human oversight for critical outputs
13. Dispute Resolution and Review Process

A. Formal Review (High Significance)

  • Triggered by:
    • Material disputes
    • List-based disputes
    • Relative-performance impact issues
    • Includes:
      • Structured review process
      • Evidence reassessment

  • B. Internal Resolution (Standard Issues)

    • Minor corrections
    • Clarifications
    • Routine adjustment
14. Publication & Access Framework
  • Platform publishes:
    • Company-level profiles
    • Metrics and analytics
    • Annual Canada 100 List
  • Update model:
    • Annual + rolling updates where applicable

15. Geographic Scope & Scalability
  • Current: Canada-focused
  • Designed for:
    • Future international expansion
    • Alignment with global standards

    16. Policy Governance & Updates
    • Policy:
      • Version-controlled
      • Periodically updated
    • Input may include:
      • Companies
      • Subject matter experts
      • Ecosystem stakeholders